Raiders 23rd in PFT Preseason Power Rankings

Posted by Evan Silva on July 13, 2012, 1:10 PM EST

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The 2012 Oakland Raiders came in 23rd in PFT’s Preseason Power Rankings. But in our writeup of the team, we acknowledge potential for new coach Dennis Allen’s team to outplay that projection. The Raiders have explosive skill-position players on offense, and a promising front four on the other side of the ball.

Perhaps we are overly optimistic, or maybe even too skeptical about the 2012 Raiders. Or maybe we got it just right. We want to know your thoughts, so take part in our poll.

No. 23 may be a little high for the Raiders. But who knows really. The Silver and Bleak are a pretty big mystery going into the 2012 season after the death of Al Davis (RIP).

I do wonder what the identity of this team will be, now that Al is gone. His son, Mark, has said and shown he has little interest in running an NFL franchise. He empaneled a group that included John Madden to look for a GM, and they came up with Reggie McKenzie. McKenzie is the only person M. Davis interviewed for the job. McKenzie then fired Hue Jackson and brought in another unknown to replace Jackson, Dennis Allen, whose only qualifications are one year a defensive coordinator.

The Fades are in salary cap hell. McKenzie was forced to jettison several starters, including last year’s best pass rusher, Kamerion Wimbley. He also let their leading rusher last season go – Michael Bush. On top of that, they didn’t have a single draft pick until the 4th round (a 3rd round comp pick is really a 4th round pick).

Their defense cost them the playoffs last season. And they go into this year with aging players up front, and several of the replacement starters are downgrades over last year’s starters. Perhaps the worst LB corps in the League.

On offense, there are question marks about their aged QB with a noodley arm. This QB quit on his former team, and said former team went to the playoffs with a rookie at QB. If things go south for the Raiders, is Palmer going to quit on them too?

It may take awhile for things to turn around in Oakland. But this team still has no identity.

dustinmc says:Jul 13, 2012 2:51 PM

No one is expecting the Raiders to play well this season. 5-6 wins is what I’m hearing from most predictions. I personally think this team will be much better than everyone thinks. Carson Palmer will have a breakout year and their defense will be much improved. 9-10 wins for the 2012 Oakland Raaaaaiiiddeeerrsss!

raiduhdude says:Jul 13, 2012 3:02 PM

LOL, noodle arm??? He was making some great throws with that “noodle arm” against those Chargers… and yeah, he might have quit on his team, but with the situation they have over there, can you blame him? And bush? lmao that guy is an average running back who could not bounce to the outside to save his life.

The offense if the least of the worries, even with a different coordinator. The defense is a different story. Last year they could have won the division with anyone else but that hack Bres. The fact they brought a DC who wasn’t even head DC the year before is worrisome but with a full TC this year, hopefully they can get it fixed. The wimbley release isn’t that big of a deal. He only had one great game, coincidentally, against those Chargers.

As of right now, I see this team as a middle of the pack, possibly late teens. Just gotta let the McKenzie regimen sink in, and this team will be back on top.

ch8878 says:Jul 13, 2012 3:09 PM

Way to low lets be honest the Raiders lead the AFC West pretty much all of last year and they lost 4 out of the last 5 games and all they had to do is win the last game of the year and they would have been in the playoffs.

The Chargers haven’t really added anything besides average WR’s this offseason so will they be better ?

The Chiefs have Cassel as QB so doubt they will do anything better that and the fact Romeo hasn’t had much success in the NFL.

The Broncos have added Manning but before Tebow started last year the O-Line didn’t seem to block well for a passing QB.

Well Kamerion Wimbley could only rush the passer he is a DE that played LB he couldn’t play in passing downs and wasn’t a great tackler I personally don’t see him being missed much.

Chris Johnson and Stanford Routt, Chris Johnson can’t stay healthy any longer and Stanford Routt had more pass interference calls then anyone else in the league and they both got torched.

John Henderson retired.

Hiram Eugene and Kevin Boss can’t stay healthy.

So were is these problems ?

Why the Raiders are so low ?

I see them getting allot more wins this year then last 2 years.

bwisnasky says:Jul 13, 2012 3:22 PM

last year’s best pass rusher, Kamerion Wimbley

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I seem to remember Kam having one great game last year…. against the 3rd string Oline of your same Chargers humdolt….. when he had 4 sacks.. which accounted for half of his yearly total…. In truth, the person the Raiders missed last year was Shaughnessey….

A washed up QB, new coach, under virtually a new ownership and a suspect defense. The only reliable is the kicker that’s been there for over a decade.

Chairman Al says:Jul 13, 2012 4:04 PM

The Oakland Raiders have gone nine seasons without a playoff berth.

Commitment to Excellence? Sure….
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Ah, you sneak into the playoffs on the back of a QB who can’t pass and all of the sudden your chest is all puffed out in pride.

Raiders fans know what CTE, Just Win, Baby, and other Raiders slogans represent: Pride in the team, and unwavering support for the club. We’ve seen progress after two straight years…your club finished the same last year and with FOUR FEWER WINS the year before.

Apparently you don’t hate all Raiders’ slogans. You seem to like RAIDER NATION enough to try to rip it off for your club.

We should all listen to Humbolt – SHE knows first hand about players quitting on their team, they did have Ladainian Tomlinson after all. Furthermore I can see why she would think Kam was our best defensive player…4 sacks against my team and I’d think the same thing too!

Humb0lt loves to talk about Palmer’s rag arm. He tossed a lot of picks last season, just like Rivers, but showed he can still make all the throws and hit tight windows. Wimbley was a one-trick pony and just terrible against the run. Routt was probably a better #2 than anyone they will have this year, but was not worth his contract. I like Michael Bush, but McKenzie couldn’t afford to keep him and probably wouldn’t have even if he could. Dennis Allen is unproven, but recycled coaches don’t always work. Just ask Norv Turner. Oakland won’t have a great defense this season, but if Allen can instill some discipline, they will be better than they were last year. And they won’t be afraid of Hump’s Chargers or any other team.

radrntn says:Jul 13, 2012 9:08 PM

radrntn says:
Jul 13, 2012 9:05 PM
just remember this is a team due to injuries lost their starting QB, the leagues leading rusher,(and back up taiwan) starting DE, starting CB’s (3 of them) starting free safety 2 of them), starting WR’s (2 of them) , and still until the last week of the season could have won the AFC west.

This was with Breshnahan calling the “D” who was way over his head. Coach Allen will be a great head coach, and Tarver is a highly intelligent individual. Plus this article does not mention that Al Saunders will still be up in the box calling plays to Knapp.

Say what you want, but to say the Raiders are the worse team in the AFC west in my opinion is a reach …so keep the hate coming , the nation love’s it.

LMAO @ Dumbolt. I love when he posts on raider articles his comments are freakin hilarious. I would call him an idiot but I dont think it’s fair to the idiots. And a fan of any team who keeps giving Norv Turner extensions shouldn’t be saying a word about any other franchise. Even Al cut Norv the second he got a chance.

I like how Palmer has been cast off as a total has been that can’t play the qb position anymore. He stood up for himself in Cinci and has moved on and taken a real leadership role on this team. The players look up to him. People don’t seem to remember or mention that this guy came in mid-season, in the middle of a game with having only had one practice! And he played pretty damn well if you ask me considering the circumstances. Yes his int’s were high, that needs to and will change. A lot of the time he was throwing blind out there. But games like the one in San Diego and against KC, this guy threw some beautiful balls. Plus he’s got a ton of young talent to throw to this year.

The defense will be much more disciplined, though its tough to say how good they’ll be. Depends a lot on linebackers stepping up and the secondary being position to make plays.

Sorry Chefs, Matt Cassel is not the answer. We depend on him to beat you guys. Chargers, still stickin’ with Norv eh? Good luck. One hit to Manning and the Broncos are done. This division is up for grabs.

Also I like how this article covers all its basis by mentioning they may be over rating the Raiders or under rating them… nice cop out Silva

I find it hilarious when people claim Carson Palmer is washed up but don’t back it up. Iwill give you he did throw a lot of interceptions, but 10 of his 16 came in 3 games, 6 in his first 2 games, knowing his receivers and the playbook should improve that a lot.

I don’t think people realize he didn’t play a full season, but if you look at his second half stats and extrapolate over a full season it would look like this

20 interceptions – 3rd worst in league, his personal worst year (tied with Rivers)
344 Completions – 10th in the league, his 3rd best year (Rivers 366 – 4th in league)
63.24 Completion % – 6th in league, his 3rd best year (Rivers 62.9)
4610 Yards – 7th in the League, his personal best (Rivers 4624)
Yds/Att 8.47 – 4th in League, his personal best
(Rivers 7.95 – 10th in league)
QB Rating 89 – 11th in League, his 3rd best year (Rivers 88.7)

Rivers had 22 more completions for 14 more yards, other than that Palmer beats him in every category. This from a QB that didn’t know the playbook, didn’t know his receivers, and was never on the field the same time as McFadden one of the better starting RBs in the league.

So I will take a washed up Carson Palmer over Rivers in his prime any time.